The ministry has helped 16 domestic medical equipment companies join the international event, which is being held at the Dubai World Trade Center from January 29 to February 1, said Taufiek Bawazier, the ministry's Director General of Metal, Machinery, Transportation Equipment, and Electronics Industries.
"We continue to encourage medical device products made by the domestic industry to become Indonesia's leading export products. Because these medical device products have enormous potential to be marketed abroad," he said in a statement released by the ministry on Monday.
He expressed hope that the companies will maximize their participation at the international exhibition as well as possible to promote domestic medical equipment products of export quality, which, in turn, could encourage the growth of the manufacturing industry and the national economy.
Speaking to delegates and participants at Arab Health 2024, he revealed that the strength of Indonesia's medical equipment industry is supported by 150 companies that produce quality medical equipment, such as ventilators, hospital furniture, and medical apparel, with high levels of domestic components.
In the future, he said that his ministry will encourage the domestic medical equipment industry to produce high-technology-based products such as electromedical devices, orthopedic implants, and radiology devices.
To achieve the target, several steps need to be taken, including ensuring the availability of raw materials, mastering technology and innovation, and developing research and development (R&D) for medical devices with the hope of creating a research-based medical device ecosystem.
"Regarding raw materials, we are trying to encourage producers of steel, plastic, and rubber raw materials to produce medical-grade products for the domestic medical equipment industry," said Bawazier.
To increase the competitiveness and technology of the domestic medical device industry, the ministry is playing an active role in developing the Center of Excellence (CoE) for Medical Devices in Yogyakarta by collaborating with universities and industry to support the R&D of innovative medical devices.
"We are also trying to formulate P3DN (domestic product use) regulations that are friendlier to industry players by including R&D elements, so that in the future, business actors can optimize domestic market absorption, especially for markets with government funding," he added.
Arab Health is an annual international exhibition of health products that has been held for 48 years in Dubai.
The exhibition is one of the largest displays of medical device products in the world. In 2023, it drew more than 110,000 visitors from 180 countries, in addition to more than 3,600 conference and business forum participants.
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Translator: Ade Irma Junida, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Anton Santoso
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